Oscar Nods

I’ve just finished reading a concise list of the ’08 Oscar nods.  I was shocked to find that I’ve actually seen most of the movies on the list!  Now, it could either mean that the Oscars–once uptight and a little ‘snooty’ have found a more modern, slightly light hearted movies that they’re recognizing, or…I’m growing up.  Scary.

Best Picture Nominees: 

There Will Be Blood

Juno

No Country For Old Men

Atonement

Michael Clayton

Movies I wanted to see:  Orange

Movies I kind of sort of wanted to see:  Olive

Movies I saw and Loved:  Blue

Now I know it’s an underdog and it’s probably not going to win, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Juno is the one for me.  Although I wouldn’t mind if any of the ones I saw (and I say that because it’s the only fair judgement I can make since I haven’t seen the others) won.  Although I’m a bit shocked that Into the Wild didn’t get any nods.  That was also a really good movie.

Phat Monkey

Phat Monkey, he’s really funky, phat monkey…that funky monkey!  Ok, so that little theme song was a rip off of the Beastie Boys, but there was a time in high school (I believe it was 10th grade) where I called everyone a fat monkey.  I even learned it in Spanish:  El Mono Gordo.  It’s not that I think an obese real life monkey is cute, but a cartoon or stuffed animal is pretty cute. 

When I got into sock monkey making (I only made 2…) I kept trying to make a fat monkey, but nothing was working out.  I must have had a brain fart at those moments because it dawned on me last night that I had to put a little triangle insert to make his belly a little bigger.  (Although I did it in the back this time, but I will try it in the front next time.) 

So that’s exactly what I did last night.  It had been a while since I’ve made a sock monkey, so the process was a little fuzzy for me, and I’m not much of a sewer, but I managed.

You probably noticed that he’s eating a soft serve strawberry ice cream in the first photo.  Don’t worry, I joined him with that one.  I crocheted that before I went to bed last night.  I’m not 100% happy with it, but it’ll do for now.

 Next up on the list:  make him some clothing!  I hope that I gather up enough energy (since I’m so lazy) to make him a cute cigar jacket.  I had lots of costumes in mind for him.  So we can all look forward to that now that I have my model done.  =]

How to Make a Sock Monkey

I’ll be bringing back one of my old characters:  Phat Monkey.  So in the spirit of this super fly cat, I give you the very first instructions I used to make my first sock monkey. 

INSTRUCTIONS:
• Turn sock inside out.
• Sew a seam (A) 1/2″ on both sides of center of sock starting 3″ from the white of the heel and across the end of top. Cut socks between seams and to within 1-1/2″ of white heel. This leaves an opening in crotch.
• Then turn sock so seams are inside and use crotch opening to stuff head, body and legs.
• ARMS:
• Cut the upper part of the sock into two pieces. Seam, rounding ends and stuff the arms.
• MOUTH:
• Cut the heel from the sock, leaving a brown edge around the white. Fasten on lower part of the face, whipping around the bottom; stuff and finish sewing around the top. The mouth can be improved by running stitch of either black or white across the middle of the lips.
• TAIL:
• Cut a 1″ strip, taper to end of cuff on length of front of sock. Seam and stuff.
• EARS:
• Cut the ears from the remaining brown part of the sole of the sock.
• EYES:
• Sew on moving eyes; buttons, felt, or embroider with black thread. (For very small children embroider eyes.)
• There are many variations from this basic pattern. Decorations can be either pompons, yarn or bells. Jackets, vests and skirts are also used for clothing the monkey.

MATERIALS:
• One pair Rockford Red Heel Socks.
• Stuffing-cotton batting or polyester fiber.
• Red knitting yarn.
• Black embroidery thread.
• All purpose thread.
• Buttons for eyes (optional)
• Straw hat (optional)

 

Visit supersockmonkey.com for other great ideas, cute sock animals, and more.

Roommates Needed

Wanted: Looking for a person of any age that has an opinion, some thoughts, ideas, and loves to share them.  Doesn’t necessarily have to be crafty, just willing to learn and share.    

If interested, please click here 

All applicants welcome. 

I’m having so much fun over at Apt 310G, I actually wasn’t expecting any participation at all, but I’m pleasantly surprised.  It looks like people are actually beginning to talk to each other and we’re all becoming a circle of friends.  I do hope that you’ll decide that taking a few minutes to set up your account isn’t bad at all and you’ll become our “roommate.” 

Saving Pies Across America

Pie Gate $2.98

We can now sleep easier knowing that pies won’t be drying out across America now.  With the Pie Gate, refridgerators won’t be the end of a flavorful, juicy pie; and for about only $3, what else could be stopping you?

San Diego

My little mini vacation was so much fun, but I am glad to be back home.  Mostly because I got sick on the trip.  It’s not fun to have your body sore, skin super sensitive, and on top of that, your nose running the entire trip, but I didn’t let that spoil my fun.  We went from January 15 to 17 and each day was equally fun.  I’ll have to give about 80% of the credit to the wonderful company I was with, so thank goodness for that. 

 Day 1:

We checked into the hotel and headed out to the USS Midway, a retired air craft carrier.  It’s so big, it’s like a small island.  The exhibit was so much fun.  There were lots of airplanes and helicopters on display and going with Sergio (who has some knowledge of all things transportation) and Seb (who is in the military) made it an even better visit.  It was like having a private tour of the ship.  The only part that sucked:  My camera’s battery died.  Boo.

I couldn’t get the entire ship in the frame because we were in the car and it was just so massive.

Landing a plane isn’t easy…  Seb and Jen are trying here.  He looks a little stressed doesn’t he?

We then walked around Downtown San Diego which I have to admit is much more beautiful that Downtown Los Angeles.  Probably because of 2 factors:  some of the architecture is more intricate and it’s clean.

Day 2:

I definitely wasn’t feeling any better, so we had to postpone our trip to the zoo to the next day, but I didn’t let that stop us from doing anything at all.  Jennifer decided that we should visit Coronado Island and hang out at the beach there because it’ll “make me feel better.”  lol.  It worked. 

Beautiful view.  The colors were so rich there and the funny thing is that I didn’t even really look at the water there.  We were too preoccupied with the next picture:

A little hermit crab Sergio found.  This was the first of a few.  Sergio and Seb went through a bunch of rocks to find all kinds of creatures, but our amazement was stuck with the hermit crabs.

Then we shifted our amusement to sea shell collecting.  Jen apparently has a great eye for finding them.  She found a few clam shells and we were hoping to get lucky and find a pearl in there.  No luck though…

We decided that although the beach was beautiful, we still had time to do at least one more thing that day and that was going to be the exploration of the Science Center.

Sergio’s conjuring up all sorts of science from the power of his hands.  Amazing.

Day 3:

The ZOO!  We were so excited about this.  I guess that my sickness made it turn out to be perfect timing.  What better way to end the trip than the reason we went there? 

We got to see Pandas.

And it’s baby.  But it was in the tree…I can’t believe it climbed all the way up the tree itself!

A gorilla and her baby.

An Orangutan named…Janey?  Uh oh.

Some beautiful snakes that I wouldn’t want to be in the same room as…

And the best camel ever!  It looked around very, very slowly with its wide eyes and mouth slightly open.  We all thought it had to be on shrooms or weed…

Vegetable Instruments?

I wish I thought of this!  I guess music really is every where if you are creative enough… Kudos Heita3!

Here are the Subtitles:

Then, let’s introduce the vegetable musical instruments that can have been done this time.
It is a carrot ocarina first.
And, it is an ocarina of a white radish in Japan that can have done this time.
The octave is geted down from the carrot ocarina.
The broccoli ocarina was made.
A good sound is not heard because only such a broccoli was obtained this time. And, a carrot ocarina of the slide type and this carrot ocarina is different the sound hole. When the breath is put here, something is heard. It shaped ..so…
The paprika was punctured. When the breath is put here, such a sound is heard. It is an owl. Carrot panpipe. When the breath is put in this, such a sound is heard. Similary asparagus panpipe was made. However, a good sound is not heard. It is a trumpet of the cucumber and the paprika in the end. There were musical instruments that looked alike also in the vegetable orchestra. Moreover, when musical instruments can be done, I introduces it. Thank you.

Cloverfield

 Mystery has gotten the best of us.  My friends and I are itching to see what the monster in Cloverfield is.  They haven’t said a peep about what it will be, but it really is entertaining hearing everyone’s theories.  I heard on my favorite morning radio show, Kevin and Bean that one listener was convinced it was a “Squid Dragon.”  Naturally.  Who wouldn’t have thought of that combination of creatures.  Anyway, we can’t wait to find out what it is, so we’ll be catching a showing in a few hours…I’m not trying to get excited because then it might disappoint me, so I’m just going to let it go as it comes…

Apt 310G

I’ve been recently inspired by all the great people I’ve met through this blog.  Many of them are fellow crafters, bloggers, and some readers.  Whatever they were though, I thoroughly enjoyed my little conversations with everyone and realized that the more and more I blogged and read others’ posts, the more friends I met.  Which made me think:  I have so many wonderful friends, I bet they would all love each other’s company too!  So, I talked to some of my close friends and got to brainstorming.

My friends, Anthony and Meredith (they have never met by the way) both came up with the exact same idea:  start a social network.  That way, we can all share ideas, tips, tricks, and projects and on top of that all, have a fun place to go to where your friends are.  Kind of like we all share a creative apartment!

So Meredith came up with Apt 310G (kind of looks like Apt BLOG doesn’t it?  How clever.) 

If I haven’t sent you an e-mail to invite you, it’s probably because I don’t have your email address, but it most definitely doesn’t mean that you’re not invited!  You can join by clicking here and begin creating your profile, posting pictures, videos, and participating in forums. 

I’ll have to get a little bit more adapted to managing it, but you can definitely look forward to craft exchanges, some mini contests, and other great things.    I look forward to seeing you there!

Calling all crafty Yogi-ers!

I recently joined an awesome yoga studio about 3 months ago.  Let me tell you, if you want something to increase your physical strength/flexibility, while getting spiritually in tune with yourself, I highly recommend yoga.  Well worth the moola.  Now on the other hand, because taking classes is somewhat costly, I didn’t have the will to spend more money on miscellaneous yoga gear, like the yoga mat case, clothing etc.  So I took a quick trip to Joann’s and now I’m sportin’ my very own customized yoga mat bag.  Tada!

It’s got lining and cinches up top to secure your precious mat.

The entire project took me a little over an hour to cut and sew. The fabric only cost me $3.00 and I used an old curtain for the lining.  (Yoga mat cases range from $15-$50).

Below are the dimensions for instructions if you want to make your own bag.  (Pictures are not drawn to scale.)

1) Strap/drawstring: Sew the strap down the length (inside out). Flip it right side out and iron with the seam in the middle.
2) Body of bag: Fold the main fabric about two inches down from the top and sew an inch from the fold.  This is where you will draw your string through.  From the seam, sew about an inch down lengthwise and then sew part of the strap in.  Continue sewing until the end.
3) Place the other end of the strap at the bottom.  Sew the circle and strap simultaneously onto the bottom of the main body.  Be sure to cut little notches an inch apart from each other on the circle to make the sewing easier. 
4) Lining: Sew lengthwise and attach the circle.
5) Attach main fabric to lining: With both pieces inside out, sew the top of the lining to the extra inch of fabric hanging from the top seam of the main piece.  Leave about three inches, so you can pull the lining through and place it appropriately.  Hand sew the remaining three inches and you’re done! 

Now, get ready to stretch and twist your body!